


the best part of believe is the lie

by thunderylee



Series: love february 2021 [6]
Category: NEWS (Japan Band)
Genre: Canon Universe, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:14:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29293494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderylee/pseuds/thunderylee
Summary: They've been faking it for so long that Shige doesn't know what's real anymore.
Relationships: Kato Shigeaki/Koyama Keiichiro
Series: love february 2021 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138346
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	the best part of believe is the lie

**Author's Note:**

> love february day 6: fake dating. title from fall out boy.

After years of protesting and refuting whatever “evidence” supported his parents’ ridiculous claims that were on par with their fans, Shige finally gives up.

“ _Fine_ ,” he grumbles into his phone. “You caught me. Koyama and I are dating.”

“I knew it!” his mother exclaims, and he feels a little guilty at how happy she sounds. “You _must_ bring him home properly.”

“Mom, he’s been over a million times—”

“None in the last decade, Shigeaki. Don’t argue with me.”

Shige shuts his mouth and hides a sigh. “There’s a _pandemic_ right now—”

“You two already had it! _Together_ , I might add.”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t still give it to you! They don’t know enough to make it safe to visit older people yet!” He realizes how loudly he’s speaking and struggles to lower his voice. “I’ll bring him home as soon as it’s safe, I promise.”

“In the meantime, send me a picture. None of those fake fanservice ones either. Something I can put on the mantle and feel happy because my obstinate only child _finally_ found love.”

The guilt rises, but he just makes an affirmative noise. “Yes, Mom.”

“I wish you both happiness together.”

Shige grunts out something affirmative and ends the call. He groans into a pillow and instantly berates himself. How old is he? A grown adult lying to his mother to get her off his case about being single. If he had a secret datefriend like all the other idols she wouldn’t be reading so much into his very fake, very _scripted_ relationship with Koyama.

It’s not like they’re not friends. They’re friends as much as Shige and Massu are friends, as much as Shige and Tegoshi _were_. The kind of friendship that forms from working together so much, camaraderie that comes natural after spending time together for so long. Koyama’s been his symmetry partner for twenty years now, for fuck’s sake. There’s no way they could fake a friendship for this long.

Koyama is also really, _really_ good at his job. He learned a long time ago that most of his appeal came from how he doted on the other members, so he made that a subset of his whole idol persona. No matter how many members there were, they were all Koyama’s babies, existing for him to care for and nurture no matter what. That’s his role in the group, and he lives it with every breath he takes.

The KoyaShige combi is part of that, a very large part now that there’s only three of them. One of the reasons they still push it so much is because it’s the only constant in their group history, something fans can cling onto every time their stability is shattered. At least KoyaShige are still together. No matter what happens, KoyaShige stay strong. They even purposely shared cups and utensils with each other so they would both catch the virus if they did at all. That’s how seriously they take their combi.

He has tried many times explaining that to his mother, but every bit of it seemed to confirm her theory that they’ve been soulmates since they were kids. Even back when they would sleep over at each other’s houses so they had cute stories to tell the fans, his parents were just as gullible. His mother in particular is a hopeless romantic like that.

Shige sighs as he opens his chat window to Koyama. If their messages were ever to be hacked, the whole world would know that it was a sham. There’s nothing but intricate details planning their interactions, brainstorming things they can say and do together to comfort their fans during these uncertain times. Now that they own a mountain, the possibilities are endless. Once it gets warmer, that is.

He shoots off a quick message and imagines Koyama falling out of bed laughing at the irony. Then again, Koyama probably wouldn’t still be in bed at 10am. He gets up pretty early these days. Falling off the couch then. Scaring Milk who had been sitting in his lap happily being petted until Koyama checked his phone. It’s surreal how vividly Shige can visualize this.

Sure enough, he gets a bunch of crying-laughing face emojis in response and an invitation to come over for dinner and incriminating pictures. _It’s technically a date so you’re not really lying!!_ Wink wink, purple and green hearts across the screen.

Of course Koyama would be enjoying this. As far as he’s concerned, this is like KoyaShige reaching their peak, and therefore his entire purpose as an idol is too. Shige wouldn’t be surprised if Koyama leaked their “incriminating pictures” online to raise the hype about them even more. It would be the best rumor they’ve ever had.

Shige sends his own eye-rolling emojis and they agree on a date and time. Even if they _were_ dating, they wouldn’t be doing it that often due to their work schedules. At least his mother understands that, even if Koyama absolutely would _not_. It was bad enough when they were trying to find time to conspire, let alone if they actually wanted to _be_ together. Shige would get fed up with Koyama’s clinginess within a month. Probably faster.

When they’re cuddling on Koyama’s couch, the remains of Koyama’s sticky lip gloss all over Shige’s face, he doesn’t really have to pretend. It feels comfortable to be with Koyama like this, even if they have to try several different poses before finding the most aesthetic one. Even though Shige’s shorter, it looks better when he’s the one holding Koyama, who just curls up in Shige’s arms like it’s his rightful place in the world.

“How about this one?” Shige asks, holding his phone up to Koyama’s face so he doesn’t have to stretch his neck.

“You look annoyed with me,” Koyama comments. “That’s perfect for work, but shouldn’t you let your true feelings show with your parents?”

Shige sighs. “I _am_ annoyed with you. You demand too much affection from me as it is, so you’re taking advantage of the opportunity to smother me.”

“Our fake relationship is so complicated,” Koyama says, and Shige can’t tell if he’s being sarcastic or not without seeing his face. “Just relax and enjoy it for the fraction of a second it takes to snap a picture. It’s nice to be close like this when it’s so cold outside, right? It feels good to me.”

Shige takes a deep breath and tries to focus on the sensations instead of logic. Usually, this kind of mindfulness is difficult for him, but it’s easy to breathe in Koyama’s shampoo and feel the warmth of his body, the firmness of his muscles and the flesh of his cheeks. Koyama doesn’t have many soft parts but Shige doesn’t need them, squeezing the weight in his arms like Koyama’s something precious. Right now, he is.

Koyama makes a faint noise at the pressure and snuggles a little more, burrowing his face into Shige’s collarbone, and Shige directs his eyes forward to take another picture. When he focuses enough to look at the finished product, he sees a smile on both of their faces.

“That’s the one,” Koyama says, instantly sitting up with what looks like all of his energy and stretching out his back. “I shall await your invitation to re-meet the parents.”

“At the rate things are going, that won’t be a for a long time,” Shige points out.

“You can’t hide me forever.”

Koyama makes a silly face at him and Shige rolls his eyes. He’d been promised dinner, so he settles back and scrolls through the news after shooting off the picture to his mother. He doesn’t expect her to reply, but he gets a new message notification as Koyama’s plating their food.

_So cute. I’m so glad you two found each other. Thank you for finally telling me the truth. I love you both._

Shige shows Koyama the message, watching Koyama’s expression carefully like that will somehow make him feel less guilty. Koyama just smiles fondly and hands Shige a plate of bland-looking chicken and vegetables, which Shige doesn’t have the heart to make fun of right now.

They watch a movie as they eat, where Koyama humors Shige for the entire three hours by listening to all of the behind the scenes information Shige had read about the actors and the production. Shige knows he’s a pain to watch movies with, which is why he usually watched them alone even before the stay-at-home order, but Koyama makes him feel a little better about it. Like Shige’s knowledge enhances the experience for him somehow.

Koyama stretches again when the credits roll, then flops right onto Shige’s chest. Shige blinks and just slings an arm around him, the action coming as natural as breathing.

“Are we taking more pictures?” he asks.

“No. We’re having a proper date, right?”

“Then you should have cuddled me _during_ the movie.”

Koyama laughs hard enough to shake Shige too, then leans up to meet Shige’s eyes. He looks contemplative for one of the few times in Shige’s memory.

“Sometimes, I wonder...” he trails off.

“Wonder what?” Shige prompts.

“If we’re missing out on something _amazing_ by faking it so much.” Koyama gives him a half smile, which comes off a little sad. “Like, if our relationship had just grown and blossomed without any outside interference, would we have come to do these things on our own? Have we ruined ourselves for any kind of intimacy between us because we’ve forced it all this time?”

“What are you even saying?” Shige laughs as he shoves at Koyama, but not enough to completely push him away. “We’re not like that. _You’re_ not like that.”

“You don’t know the first thing about what I’m like.”

Shige frowns, the body in his arms suddenly distant. “What are you like, then?”

“I’m like this.”

Two hands cup Shige’s face and the next thing he knows are soft lips against his, much gentler than Shige would have expected. Koyama’s right—Shige knows _nothing_ about him like this, only the longtime lie they’ve manufactured for the fans and now his parents. Or maybe it’s not a lie anymore.

Shige finds himself kissing back, the foreign feeling of Koyama’s mouth mixed with the familiarity of Koyama himself breaking his brain. It’s already been a while since he's kissed _anyone_ , but kissing _Koyama_ feels just as good, if not better. Somehow, there’s none of the pressure he usually feels with another person like this. He’s not worried about being good at it, scared of putting his hand in the wrong place or pulling away too fast or not fast enough.

It’s mindless.

“Get it?” Koyama mumbles when they break apart, only going far enough to lean his forehead against Shige’s jaw.

“Not at all,” Shige answers honestly, still a little dizzy.

Koyama laughs and sinks back into Shige’s embrace.

“Someday you will.”


End file.
